Farmington, N.Y., farmer Greg Atwood holds son Chase, 1, as he checks his herd of pregnant heifers in one of the fields of Copper Creek Farm that he runs with his wife, Dana. He takes some of his animals to Joe's Meat Market in Ontario, the closest USDA-certified slaughterhouse.

By Karen Miltner, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle

ROCHESTER, N.Y.  In some respects, John Bermon says, his livelihood as a small-scale livestock farmer is out of his direct control.

The owner of Aberdeen Hill Farm produces pasture-raised pork, lamb and beef in Gorham, N.Y. Before he can sell his meat at nearby farmers markets or deliver it to customers in the Rochester area during winter months, he drives his animals more than 80 miles to the Leona Meat Plant in Troy, Pa., where they are slaughtered and processed in a small, family-owned facility that is inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

If the plant gave up doing USDA inspections or went out of business — as many of its size have — Bermon says his business model would collapse, as would those of a lot of other livestock farmers who rely on small-scale USDA-inspected slaughterhouses to move their meats from pasture to plate.

Without the USDA stamp of inspection, Bermon and other livestock farmers could not legally sell their meats at the retail or wholesale level.

For now, Bermon's business is safe. Mike DeBach, owner of the Leona plant, says he has no plans to close. He says he would like to give up USDA inspection because it is so onerous, but he wouldn't because so many of his customers rely on it.

Concerns that it might close have legitimate basis in recent history. In the early 1980s, there were about 150 slaughterhouses throughout New York that were USDA-inspected. Now there are fewer than 40, says Marty Broccoli, agriculture development specialist at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County.

The shortage is not unique to New York, though its severity varies from state to state, says Lauren Gwin of Oregon State University, co-coordinator of the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network. Some states, such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, have "a wealth of great processing resources" for niche meat producers, while others, such as Vermont and California, do not, she says.

According to a 2009 report by the consumer rights advocacy group Food & Water Watch, the number of state and federally inspected facilities nationwide shrank 20% from 2002 through 2007.

The decline of small-scale USDA-inspected slaughterhouses comes as the demand for pasture-raised niche meats is soaring, thanks in large part to the local foods movement, the concern over food-borne outbreaks and media focus such as the Oscar-nominated documentary Food, Inc., says Jim Ochterski, agriculture economic development specialist at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County, N.Y.

There are many small livestock farmers, such as Bermon, ready to meet that demand. "The bottleneck in the process is the lack of USDA slaughter facilities," Ochterski says.

Reasons for the decline vary, according to the Food & Water Watch report. Consolidation is a major factor. As of 2005, nearly 85% of U.S. beef was being processed by the four top companies —Cargill, Tyson, Swift and National Beef Packing.

Families in the business

Another factor is younger family members not wanting to continue the business, Broccoli says. Slaughterhouse work is hard and dirty, the hours are long and the profit margin is extremely slim, he says. As owners approached retirement age, family members or other interested parties have not stepped up to take over the business, Broccoli says.

And unlike the mega assembly line slaughterhouses of the Midwest, smaller facilities need more highly trained workers who understand the process from start to finish, Broccoli says.

In recent years both skilled workers and training to develop them have diminished, he says.

New safety requirements mandated by the USDA have also played a role. Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP), a management plan to address hygiene and food-safety risks, became mandatory in 1998, and difficult for small-scale facilities.

"It's hard for the little businesses to comply with all the paperwork," says John Pagliuso, owner of Joe's Meat Market in Ontario, N.Y.

HACCP record-keeping requires so many steps to be recorded that Pagliuso says he has to pull administrative staff from their desks to monitor and verify what workers on the kill floor are doing, which slows down work flow considerably, he says.

To make matters even more challenging, this spring the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service proposed rules that would require extra in-plant testing and documentation to be part of HACCP plans. The cost would be especially prohibitive for small processors who typically have a more diversified product line (and therefore, more HACCP plans to follow), says Gwin.

Meat-processing trade organizations such as the American Association of Meat Processors say it's unclear what exactly the new rules would dictate processors to do. "We are not even sure if this approach is valid scientifically," says Gwin.

Small-scale livestock farmers have other selling options, but they are not always convenient for the average household. One is to sell a live animal directly to the consumer, who then, as the animal's owner, takes responsibility for arranging slaughtering and processing. The practice is commonly known as the freezer meat trade; consumers usually can purchase half or quarter as well as the whole animal.

As long as the meat is to be consumed exclusively by the owners and will not be resold, it can be processed at a USDA custom-exempt slaughterhouse, which operates with fewer requirements than a USDA-licensed facility.

A USDA custom-exempt facility must be inspected on a regular basis, but each meat order is not, according to "A Resource Guide to Direct Marketing Livestock and Poultry" by Martha Goodsell, Tatiana Stanton and Jim McLaughlin.

Good news

Not all the news is bad, says Kathleen Harris, processing and marketing coordinator of the Northeast Livestock Processing Service in Sprakers, N.Y.

In Washington County, N.Y., a custom-exempt slaughterhouse recently transitioned to USDA inspection. Meanwhile, in Oneida County, a temporarily closed USDA-inspected plant will soon open under new ownership, and things look hopeful for a full-service organic slaughterhouse to open in the near future as well, notes Broccoli.

The Glynwood Center, a farmland preservation organization in Cold Spring, N.Y., is overseeing the state's first mobile slaughterhouse that serves livestock farmers in the lower Hudson Valley. The unit just received its final USDA certification and is now operating, says spokeswoman Geralyn Graham.

Similar red-meat mobile processing units are already being used in a handful of states, including California, Washington and South Dakota.

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.